The e-mail that went out Thursday to every lawmaker from the lobbying firm of Colorado Legislative Services LLC wasn’t supposed to be about Senate Majority Leader Morgan Carroll.

But that’s who’s getting the apology for it today.

Jim Cole, a partner at the firm and a longtime lobbyist at the Capitol whose clients include various oil and gas interests, sent the e-mail and said he simply attached the wrong document to the message.

“My intent was to send a completely different document extolling the virtues of compressed natural gas,” Cole said.

What he sent instead was a briefing for one of his clients, Chesapeake Energy, outlining the political lay of the land for the 2013 session.

The memo explained how things had changed this session because Democrats were now back in control of the legislature, though Gov. John Hickenlooper, also a Democrat, had been friendly to the oil and gas industry, especially on the issue of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” as most people call it.

But what came next was definitely not meant for general consumption.

“The Senate numbers remain unchanged,” the memo said. “The Democrats are still firmly in charge with a 20-15 margin. The Senate President is a moderate, but the new majority leader is an anti-oil and gas populist. She has aspirations of being attorney general and possibly governor and is using the anti-fracturing sentiment to get her wider exposure to the media.”

The memo goes on to state there are at least three Senate Democrats friendly to the industry who don’t want a fracking fight, and it explains the new makeup of the House and how oil and gas issues are viewed there.

Lobbyists prepare these insider briefings all the time for their clients, but they don’t usually get leaked out – especially if they have such pointed criticisms of individual lawmakers, whom lobbyists may have to deal with on a range of issues for other clients.

Like other lawmakers, Carroll got the e-mail, too.

“My reaction was just that it was really stupid,” she said. “It’s just dumb to put it in writing let alone to accidentally send it out. This is probably a lesson for everybody. You’ve got to keep it sticking to issues.”

Carroll said the memo wouldn’t change anything she does as a lawmaker, but does make things “awkward” with the lobbying firm. And as for her political aspirations, Carroll said only that she’d be “crazy” to leave the legislature now with Democrats back in charge.

Cole said there haven’t been any consequences so far to his mistake, and he’s trying to smooth things over with Carroll.

“I am scheduled to meet with the majority leader this afternoon,” he said. “I expect to give her an apology.”

Update:

Cole called and told me he’d met with Carroll and the meeting went well.

“She’s shown some clemency, and she wants to use this as an opportunity to form a different kind of relationship” with the oil and gas industry, he said. “She handled herself in a very professional and forthright manner and the meeting was positive.

“I told her that I ascribed motivations (to her) and it’s not my place to do that, and I just apologized.”

Jim Cole should be let go from the firm, and anyone who does business with that firm should pull their business as well – because why wait. Colorado Legislative Services now, basically, doesn’t exist in the eyes of the Democratic leadership. No use paying a lobbying firm to lobby a body that won’t even let it in the door after this mess-up

OrangeFree: you can’t fire the owner from his own firm. That said, everyone should look at his client list on the Secretary of State, if the following link doesn’t show you Jim Cole, just type in his name or his firm on the Search Page: http://www.sos.state.co.us/lobby/LobbyistSummary.do

Did you know that you can see all Colorado lobbyist’s clients and how much they pay them on the SOS website? It’s disgusting to see how much some of these people make, and how many conflicting interests they represent.

This guy represents Special Olympics, Colorado School of Mines, and about 25 more companies and organizations. All of his clients should fire him for his lack of judgement and the lack of access and influence he now has with all politicians.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.